Broken Trust
by Nameless Moonlight5
Summary: Just a drabble I came up with after watching the latest episode “Divided”.


Summary: Just a drabble I came up with after watching the latest episode "Divided".

Warnings: Spoilers, attempted suicide

Parings: Eli/Rush (Strained Friendship; could be considered hinted slash depending on how you read it), Past Scott/Chloe, One-sided Eli/Chloe

Disclaimer: Young and Greer would be dead by now if I owned Stargate Universe.

**Broken Trust**

"I don't trust you," Eli had said to Rush one day, his jaw tight and his brown eyes full of dislike.

"I know," Rush had said in response, not even bothering to lift his eyes from the console he was at that moment studying. It had been a very disappointing reaction, anticlimactic really, and Eli had had nothing else to say to the insufferable genius in front of him after that.

***

Eli sighed as he stared mournfully down at his feeble meal of rotten tasting tomatoes and unappetizing looking gruel. It was just another day on the _Destiny_… just another day. Slowly Eli looked up and glanced around the mess hall to see the tenseness there, all of the civilians stiffening every time a military man or woman moved into the mess hall. It had been three days since Rush and Wray had led the rebellion against the military personnel; three days since the downfall of the slightly unstable co-existence of _Us _and _Them._ And Eli didn't know if there was a way to fix it…

"Hey." Eli jumped, startled, and quickly glanced up to see Lieutenant Matthew Scott hovering over the table that Eli was currently sitting at. Scott smiled, hesitantly, and silently asked if he could sit down by indicating the chair opposite Eli with a tilt of his head.

"Yeah, go ahead," Eli said and Scott sat down, heavily. He looked terrible, Eli observed, with a pale complexion and dark shadows splayed across his cheeks. It was obvious that Scott hadn't been sleeping well in the last three days.

"Matt…" Eli began but was quickly interrupted by Scott.

"She moved back into her old quarters," Scott blurted out. Eli blinked, it taking him a few seconds to realize what Scott was saying.

"Chloe?" He asked, numbly, as he subconsciously glanced at the girl in question who was eating alone a few tables off to their left side. At his glance Chloe looked up and their eyes met for a second but Eli broke the contact by looking back at Scott who was nodding sadly at him.

"She won't talk to me since… the _incident_." 'The Incident.' That was what they were calling it these days. After all 'mutiny' sounded too depressing. Eli popped a tomato into his mouth and right on cue grimaced.

"Maybe you guys should just give each other some space to work out your feelings," Eli suggested only to regret his words upon seeing the look of anger painting itself onto Scott's face.

"You would like that wouldn't you Eli?" Scott all but spat at him. Eli felt like he had just been slapped.

"No… I didn't mean that at all," Eli whispered. It was true, he did have feelings for Chloe but never in his wildest dreams did he actually want her happiness with Scott to shatter just so he could have a chance. It wasn't, after all, like him to be cruel. Scott meanwhile seemed to have noticed how pale Eli had gotten and automatically Eli saw shame flit its way onto Scott's face.

"I'm sorry Eli… I've just been… you know… stressed…" Scott muttered, his eyes resting on his meal that he has yet to touch. Eli also glanced down before forcing a shaky smile to form onto his face.

"It's fine…" Eli said and then suddenly stood up. "I think I will go now," He added. Scott looked stricken but seemed to know not to argue so he just nodded his goodbye before Eli turned away from him and headed towards the exit. He didn't get that far however.

"Oh Eli can I ask a favor?" It was Becker; the 'cook'.

"Yeah, what is it?" Eli asked. Becker was holding a bowl of gruel out to him and Eli, instinctively, took it.

"Do you mind taking that to Dr. Rush?" Becker asked him, his lips quivering as if saying the word 'Rush' was word that would curse him to an early death. Upon hearing Becker's request Eli automatically stiffened and was about to mouth his reluctance to go within a twenty foot radius of the Doctor who had lost his respect long ago but the pleading look in Becker's eyes made him fold without him uttering a word.

"Yeah, I will take it to him," Eli mumbled. Becker smiled at him and, clapping a warm hand on his shoulder, thanked him. Eli nodded at that before turning his back on Becker and striding once more towards the exit; this time not being interrupted in his escape.

***

Ever since 'The Incident' Rush has been put under house arrest or in other words he had been forbidden to leave his quarters by command of Colonel Young. Another command had been for someone of military personnel to guard him 24/7 and it just so happened that Master Sergeant Greer was the one guarding the door that shift.

"Eli…" Greer greeted him upon his approach, his face grim and his eyes ever alert as he watched him.

"Hey… I just came to deliver Rush some food…" Eli said, faltering a little upon reaching Greer and the door. Greer, after all, intimidated the hell out of him. Greer raised an eyebrow at him but otherwise didn't make any other move of acknowledgement and instead pressed the button in order to open the door to Rush's quarters. Taking this as an invitation and relieved that Greer didn't want to talk to him, Eli quickly shuffled into the dim room as the door automatically shut behind him. It was then that he paused upon the threshold, studying the prone figure on the bed who was reading a book and completely ignoring his very presence.

"I brought you some food," Eli muttered finally, the tenseness in the room getting to him.

"I can see that, you can put it on the floor," Rush finally responded to him though he still didn't look up from his book. Eli's jaw tensed but he did as instructed and then quickly turned around, preparing to leave, but then halted for Rush spoke again and Eli stayed to listen.

"What is happening with the crew Eli?" Rush asked. Eli spun around at that, his face contorted.

"If you must know the tension in the air these days is so thick that even a knife would shatter if you tried to cut it with it," Eli said. Finally, _finally_, Rush looked up at him, his face expressionless.

"Yes, I expected something like that to happen," Rush said, mildly. Eli wanted to shout at him but kept himself under control.

"Why did you do it Rush? Why do you keep trying to overthrow the Colonel?" Eli asked him. Rush, to Eli's surprise, got to his feet and strode forward until he was in front of Eli.

"Because Eli, the Colonel is not the right man for the job," Rush said, his eyes boring into Eli's.

"And you are?" Eli asked him, tensely. Rush just gave him a cold smile.

"I didn't say that," Rush said before he stooped down to retrieve the bowl from the floor. He then eyed the gruel with obvious disdain but took up the spoon and took a bite of it.

"Becker seems to be getting better at making edible substances," Rush commented offhandedly and from the tone of his voice Eli couldn't decide whether he was being sarcastic or not. Though from what Eli knew of the man he opted to believe that Rush _was_ being sarcastic.

"You should try the tomatoes," Eli finally muttered. Rush just snorted and then continued to eat his gruel. There was an awkward silence then and Eli shifted uncomfortably, wondering if he should go but then Rush spoke again and Eli once more found himself unable to move.

"You knew didn't you? What Colonel Young did to me?" Rush asked, his tone mild again but his eyes scrutinizing. And Eli couldn't find it in his heart to lie.

"I did… but not until after he came back without… you," Eli muttered. Rush blinked at him. He had finished his meal.

"But surely you had some idea what he had planned after he found out who the culprit was?" Rush asked. Eli swallowed, audibly.

"I didn't think he would go that…"

"Far?" Rush asked. Eli nodded. "Tell me Eli, do you want me dead?" Rush asked him. Eli felt his jaw drop but then he quickly shut it again, his eyes defiant.

"Maybe we would be better off," Eli whispered and then shivered, shocked at his own animosity. Something flashed in Rush's eyes and a bitter smile came to his lips before he abruptly turned away from Eli to go to his bed where he placed the bowl. He then turned to his bedside table and opened the drawer where he removed a metal object and moved back to a very stiff Eli whose wide eyes were on the metal object in Rush's hand.

"Here," Rush said, forcing the gun into Eli's clammy hand, "if you think I should die then kill me," He added in a whisper. Eli felt his throat constrict.

"I-I can't," He stuttered, his eyes wide and _scared_. Rush's mouth thinned and he nodded.

"Then let me do it for you," Rush said and before Eli could even move Rush had grabbed the gun back from Eli's limp hand and had brought it up to rest at his temple. He then closed his eyes and Eli found that he could move again.

"No!" He cried and grabbed wildly at the gun, forcing it away from Rush's head with surprising strength. "You can't!" He added and was quite surprised to feel tears beginning to erupt from his eyes. Rush seemed surprised as well for he seemed unable to move let alone speak for a moment but then he finally succeeded in raising his empty hand to cup Eli's chubby cheek, catching a few tears that had escaped Eli's eyes.

"Eli…" He muttered and something strange passed between them before Rush broke eye contact and, releasing both Eli's cheek and his hold on the gun, Rush turned away and moved back to his bed where he stood with his back to Eli.

"Take the gun with you Eli when you leave, I don't want to be tempted," Rush muttered, his voice almost cracking with an emotion Eli couldn't understand. In any case Eli took that as his cue and, stuffing the gun hastily into his sweatshirt pocket, Eli all but bolted out the door that had opened upon his knock.

"Did _he_ do something to you Eli?" Greer asked worriedly upon seeing Eli's pale face and watery eyes.

"N-no," Eli responded through numb lips and, before Greer could say another word, Eli fled. And in all honesty Eli had no idea where he was running to for all he could feel was the cool metal of the gun brushing against his pocketed hand.

***

"_I don't trust you," Eli had said to Rush once and all Rush had said in response was "I know."_

***

_The End_


End file.
